lost a baby

jbsmomto1

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We lost one of the baby girls that were dropped off to me the other day. No idea what happened to her. At 6:30 this morning my daughter and I were watching them, I was asking how they could all be so wide awake at such at early hr. All 9 kittens were zipping along, playing, jumping, etc etc normal behavior. All of a sudden she just fell over, we picked her up and put her in a separate newborn bin, turned on the heating pad, tried to soothe her etc. AT some points her chest would stop rising, for what seemed like a long time, but maybe wasn't. Than she would start breathing again. She would let out a little groan every once in a while. I think she possibly had a seizure as her head snapped back to an odd position but then after a few mins we were able to move it to something more comfortable. 7:50am, she was gone. No clue what happened to her.

How does a baby go from playing, to dying to dead in an hr? She didn't appear ill, none of them did. All were happy, healthy and normal at 6:30. She is currently at the vet in hopes that they can find a cause so we know what we are dealing with. Coming from where they came from, it's very likely they could be harbouring something. It wasn't distemper, or parasites. Possibly a congenital heart issue, when she was playing hard it just became to much.

I am so worried that it is something i did, though I know logically I did nothing, but the "I wonders," and "what ifs" are there in my mind. I am also worried that they will find that she had a disease, one that they all have now...one that would mean I cannot do rescue for a while until whatever it is is removed from my home. I love doing rescue and don't want to have to give it up.

I have done 19 kittens so far and this is my 2nd loss, the 1st was a 8 day old baby girl who died from fading kitten syndrome, but at least I knew that, couldn't fix it no matter how hard I tried but I still knew. This one we have no clue and it was just so sudden.
 

kailie

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Oh sweetie, I am so, so sorry.
Being a foster mom myself and involved in rescue, I have gone through this exact situation a few times myself. Sometimes they are sick and I expect it, but there were 2 different situations I had where the kitten seemed fine in the morning and was dead by the evening.
It is NOT your fault, but I know how much it hurts and I know all of the things you are feeling. Think about all the ones you are SAVING. That's what gets me through it.
 
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jbsmomto1

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just got off the phone with the vet, one of her lungs was partially collapsed (don't understand partially, thought it was all or nothing but w/e) and her on one of her heart chambers the wall was thinner than it should have been. They are saying it was a congenital heart defect. I'm happy about this as it means that the others should be fine, but feel bad for her that I let her run around and play, if I had of fed them maybe just 5 mins sooner, she would have stopped and not ran her wee heart to death.
 

mystik spiral

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Awww, don't blame yourself!!
We all know how active kittens are and there is absolutely NO way you could have known about the heart defect!!! I'm happy that you were able to find out what happened to her.
 

StefanZ

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Feeling with you!
*embracing*


RIP little one.



Good luck!
 

milu

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That's a heartbreaker for sure and quite a shock for you and your daughter. But as harsh as it was I find it comforting that the little one played hard and had fun instead of suffering and wilting away. I hope you can find comfort in that too. Please don't even think about blaming yourself
 

mrblanche

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Originally Posted by jbsmomto1

just got off the phone with the vet, one of her lungs was partially collapsed (don't understand partially, thought it was all or nothing but w/e) and her on one of her heart chambers the wall was thinner than it should have been. They are saying it was a congenital heart defect. I'm happy about this as it means that the others should be fine, but feel bad for her that I let her run around and play, if I had of fed them maybe just 5 mins sooner, she would have stopped and not ran her wee heart to death.
It was likely just a matter of time. You didn't do anything to purposely hurt the kitten, and she was enjoying herself. Cats are SO good at hiding any weakness that likely the only way you would have discovered this was with a crisis, anyway.

Another kitten at the Bridge, waiting for you!
 

bellaandme

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I'm so sorry for this loss. Please don't blame yourself. You gave that little one love and that's what will remembered when you see her at the Bridge
 
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